Areas of Interest

Plastic surgeons operate all over the body from the head to the toes and almost everywhere in between. Broadly speaking this includes removing skin cancers and the reconstruction of bodily defects following other speciality surgery. We routinely operate as part of a multidisciplinary team for the care of complex patient’s cases to restore function and form following injury or disease.

Upper Limb

Hand surgeons manage a wide range of upper limb conditions with our other colleagues in hand therapy, radiologists, rheumatologists and neurologists. Not all conditions require surgical intervention and appropriate care will be tailored to the individual based on their clinical needs. These include the following common conditions -

Conditions such as hand and wrist arthritis, joint pain, requiring injection, replacement, realignment and stabilisation.
Wrist and finger fractures including sports injuries in athletes.
Management of soft tissue infection in the upper limb.
Treatment of nerve compression requiring surgery at the elbow, wrist or hand such as Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.
Other complex peripheral nerve problems.
Treatment of tendon and ligament injury resulting from trauma, sports injury or repetitive strain, such as de Quervain’s tenosynovitis.
Assessment and treatment of Dupuytren’s disease, a condition which results in progressive thickening of the skin on the palm of the hand resulting in contracted fingers, which may require surgical intervention.

Trauma / Injuries

Patients experiencing trauma will often have several simultaneous problems and whole teams of surgeons and physicians may be involved in their successful treatment. Many patients first experience with a plastic surgeon will be following an injury ranging from something relatively minor (such as a cut finger tip) through to the opposite end on the scale like a serious polytrauma road traffic accident. Typical examples of cases we manage include the following:

Simple and complex facial, upper and lower limb trauma; conditions treated include acute tendon, nerve, bone, joint and ligament injuries.
Chronic injuries and delayed diagnoses requiring re-evaluation and further surgical intervention including scar management as well as functional and aesthetic reconstruction.

Skin Cancers and Benign Skin Lesions

Skin cancers are managed in conjunction with a multi-disciplinary team if appropriate.

Melanoma
Basal Cell Carcinoma
Squamous Cell Carcinoma
Rare skin malignancies
Pre-malignancy lesions
Benign skin lesions

Advanced skin cancer is managed through a weekly “skin MDT” framework where dermatologists, plastic surgeons, oncologists/immunotherapists and our colleagues in radiology and pathology discuss cases and plan tailored treatment using the most up to date international recommendations. Essentially each patient receives several second opinions from experienced specialists in skin cancer without having to actually attend.

Medicolegal Assessments

Mr Sullivan provides independent medicolegal assessments requested by solicitors appropriate to his specialist interests.

All patients attending for a medicolegal assessment will be emailed a form to return prior to their appointment. It is essential that this is completed to ensure that a full account of any injury is obtained, leaving time for a detailed functional examination and thereby avoiding unnecessary delays.

Aesthetic Practice

As a trained plastic surgeon Paul provides assessment, and where appropriate surgical and non-surgical treatment, for a range of aesthetic conditions.

These include, but are not limited to the following:

Congenital conditions, eg prominent ears, facial or body deformities in both adults and children.
Aesthetic breast surgery – breast reduction, augmentation and correction of breast asymmetry.
Post weight loss skin surgery (including post bariatric surgery) – abdominoplasty, brachioplasty, body and thigh surgery.
For other conditions please enquire by email or phone.